
CMS prescribes payment fix to resuscitate US antibiotic industry
As the UK experiments with a subscription-style payment system to resuscitate the fledgling antibiotic industry — in the United States, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is working on restructuring the payment apparatus for new antibiotics to revitalize antimicrobial development and rescue existing manufacturers.
For one of the biggest threats to global health, the lion’s share of antibiotic development is taking place in a handful of labs of small biopharma companies as a majority of their larger counterparts focus on more lucrative endeavors. In recent months, a handful of antibiotic developers — including Achaogen and Tetraphase — have seen their value go up in smoke as feeble sales frustrate growth.
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